


i knew this of myself

by ohvictor



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 19:25:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11720928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohvictor/pseuds/ohvictor
Summary: Kuro wakes up from a murky, unpleasant dream to find himself alone in Keito’s bed.





	i knew this of myself

**Author's Note:**

> a snippet of how i view kuro/keito and how they deal with keito's complicated relationship with eichi. title is from iscariot by walk the moon.

Kuro wakes up from a murky, unpleasant dream to find himself alone in Keito’s bed.

He knows this before he opens his eyes; the already small bed is nearly impossible to move in with two people squished into it, so the fact that his body feels comfortable, albeit cold, means he’s alone.

He cracks open his eyes and stares up into the darkness. Keito probably just went to pee, so there’s no point waiting up. But it would be nice to snuggle up against him when he gets back, so Kuro waits, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness of Keito’s tiny bedroom.

After a few moments, he makes out voices from outside the room - no, just one voice, Keito’s voice. Kuro kicks the blankets off his legs and gets to his feet, pauses to listen, and then heads in the direction he can hear Keito speaking from. Out of the bedroom, down the hall, through the temple, until finally he pads out onto the path outside and finds Keito sitting on the gravel, his knees tucked up to his chest, talking on the phone.

Kuro understands the situation immediately - there’s only one person who would keep Keito up talking in the middle of the night. Keito’s head shoots up when he hears Kuro’s footsteps approach, and he’s clearly trying to look innocent, as if it could be a business call, or a friend, or _anyone_ that isn’t Tenshouin keeping him awake.

Keito makes a habit of being dishonest, about his plans, his emotions, even to himself - but his poker face has always been shit, and his innocent expression slips when Kuro frowns at it.

“I need to go,” he says into the phone. “I’ll talk to you--in the morning.”

He’s lowering the phone as Kuro turns and walks back inside.

He retraces his steps back through the hallways, inhaling the wood and incense scent that clings to all of Keito’s clothes even at school. It’s calming even now, when he knows they’re probably going to fight - a reminder that Keito wants him to be here, that he’s been wanted here enough times to know the way back to the bedroom even in the dark.

In Keito’s bedroom, Kuro climbs back into bed and wraps himself in blankets. These, too, are thick with Keito’s scent, and he buries his face in Keito’s pillow and inhales slowly. He’s safe here, and Keito is safe here, where Kuro can hold him and protect him and make sure he has good dreams.

Keito’s footsteps echo in the hallway, and a moment later he enters the room. He shuts the door behind him, and pauses a moment before kneeling and getting into bed with Kuro again. His feet are cold, but he doesn’t press them against Kuro immediately like he usually would. Kuro’s facing away from Keito now, but he doesn’t have to be looking at Keito to guess what Keito’s thinking.

Neither of them speaks. Kuro’s fine with silence, but Keito fidgets, adjusts his position a few times, and then finally, he cracks.

“Sorry.”

Kuro shrugs one shoulder.

“That was Eichi. I didn’t mean to leave you alone for so long. He had to be taken to the hospital, and he got bored...”

Keito trails off, probably waiting for a response, and Kuro turns Keito’s words over in his head. The part of him that tries very hard to be a _good person_ decides he’s glad Tenshouin is okay enough to be bored, but the part of him (most of him) that’s in love with Keito remembers that it’s the middle of the night, and Tenshouin has a whole unit and tons of servants and the entire internet to keep him entertained while his best friend gets the good night’s sleep he desperately needs.

“Please don’t ignore me,” Keito says.

“I’m not,” Kuro answers immediately.

Keito huffs. Kuro can feel him turning onto his back, and he imagines Keito looking sternly up at the ceiling. “If you want to be angry with me, then just say whatever it is you’re thinking. I’m too tired to deal with you being silent.”

“You already know what I’m thinking,” Kuro says.

“Then just yell at me and get it over with.”

“Yelling wouldn’t do any good.” Kuro shuts his eyes. “And anyway, it’s the middle of the night. You should get to sleep.”

“I can’t sleep with you sulking next to me.”

“I’m not sulking.”

“Yes, you are,” Keito says. His voice has an edge now, and Kuro feels a surge of regret that he has to do this, that he’s keeping Keito up even later and stressing him out. He’ll probably have sour dreams now, and it’ll be Kuro’s fault. “You’re sulking because I was talking to Eichi, and you don’t like him. You always do this. You knew when we started dating that Eichi’s part of the package, so I don’t get why you’re still so stubborn about it.”

They both know that’s a lie, so Kuro doesn’t say anything. The part of him that really, _really_ wants to be a good person questions whether he’s not just staying silent because he knows it will rile Keito up and bring the fight to a boil faster - but since it’s already late, maybe speeding things along is a good choice, even if it’s the sort of shady, backhanded behavior that makes Kuro sick.

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous,” Keito says, and they both know that’s a lie too, but it’s also bait, a wiggling worm on a hook, and Kuro decides he might as well bite.

“I’m not jealous,” he says, and he rolls onto his back so that he’s lying side by side next to Keito. Their arms are touching, their bodies squeezed together in the cramped bed but held apart by their sheer stubbornness. “What does Tenshouin have that’s worth being jealous of? A dying body, no friends, a throne built on lies and theft? He doesn’t even have you.”

“Yes, he does,” Keito snaps.

“Only because you give yourself to him,” Kuro sighs. He throws one arm across his face, hiding in the crook of his arm as he collects his words. “You stick by him because he keeps calling and you don’t know how not to answer. But you’re with me, because I love you,” he reaches for Keito’s hand under the sheets, and finds his fingers cold and unbending, “because I support you, because I challenge you to be your best self. Eichi gives you a perch where you can hurt others to feel important. I make you _believe_ you’re important, so you don’t need someone like him.” Keito’s fingers soften under Kuro’s, and Kuro weaves their fingers together and squeezes. “I don’t have to be jealous of him, because I’ve never been anything but honest with you about how I feel. And I’m willing to wait until you can believe me that you deserve better.”

Keito’s silent. Kuro clears his throat, which is irritated by speaking so much at a late hour, and, true to his word, he waits.

It only takes a few moments. Keito lets out a breath, and then rolls over and buries his face in Kuro’s shoulder.

“You’re impossible,” he mumbles.

With that, the tension dissolves. Kuro turns onto his side and curls around Keito, slinging his arm around Keito’s body and pulling him closer. Keito lifts his face and Kuro fumbles his way into a kiss, and he pretends he doesn’t notice how shaky Keito’s breathing is against his lips.

“I don’t know how you can just say such sappy things,” Keito says when they part.

“It helps that we can’t see each other,” Kuro says, and they laugh together, brief and quiet in the dark.

“Are you still mad?” Keito asks. He’s winding all of his limbs around Kuro now, and Kuro doesn’t know how Keito thinks he could stay mad when he’s surrounded by such warmth.

“No, I said my piece.” Kuro nuzzles against Keito’s jaw. “Are you mad, danna?”

“No,” Keito sighs. “Well, I’m not happy either, but I don’t care about that right now. It’s time to sleep.” He muffles a yawn against Kuro’s temple, painting the side of Kuro’s face with warm breath. “Sorry for waking you up.”

“I’m always happy to be woken up for cuddles,” Kuro says. Keito chuckles, and Kuro feels it all around him, in the legs twined through his and the arms wrapped around him, in Keito’s chest against his and Keito’s head on his pillow.

“Sap,” Keito says again, and kisses Kuro’s cheek. “Thanks for taking care of me,” he says, and then, as if he doesn’t want to dwell on that, “Goodnight.”

“‘S my job,” Kuro yawns, and nuzzles his face against Keito’s. “G’night.”


End file.
